Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Computer stuff, and useless drivel Now Italian pencil-pen

[Robert W. Garven Jr. (rgarven]

leave it to the Italians!

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/inkless-pen-lets-you-write-forever-180949737/?no-ist

Robert W. Garven Jr.

rgarven [at] gmail.com

 "The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for those lucky few." Enzo Ferrari

On Feb 12, 2015, at 5:37 AM, Rick Lindsay via Ferrari <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com> wrote:

Just as we saw the concepts of CB Radio evolve into e-mail, then into Facebook, then into the Twitter-sphere, the observe tgat hardware has done the same. What were once building-size computing engines have evolved into hand-held or body worn devices. The purpose for the machines has also evolved. What was once the plaything of researchers, became a tool for scientists and engineers, then a utility for the masses, and now, an entertainment device. And as the physical and operating characteristics have changed, so has the ease of use.

In general, systems can be either versatile or they can be simple to use, but rarely both. Witness Unix, an operating system that can and will do about anything that a user chooses. That is its strength, but also its weakness. Anyone versed in the language of Unix (or Linux) knows the irreversible power of the command: 

rm * 

Because of its extreme versatility, Unix is a challenge for the novice to use. Ever used the editor called 'vi'? Its extremely powerful and once learned, especially after tactile memory is encoded into one's fingers, it can be very fast at file editing. By contrast, it is not WYSIWYG like Word, or similar.

Similarly, consider the simplicity of operation of an iPhone. The One Button was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron during the Second Age to gain dominion over the free peoples of Cyber-earth. In disguise as The Great and Powerful Waz, or "Lord of Circuits", he aided the Elven smiths of Silicon Valley and their leader Steven in the making of the Buttons of Power. He then forged the One Button himself in the fires of Mount Doom, California. One Button to rule them all, One Button to find them,

One Button to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

My wife considers the iPhone to be the best device ever. Its simple, powerful, and as long as you do things its way, it works great. Just don't try to make it work YOUR way. I find the device infuriating. All I can do is push THE button and make it light up. Then again, I am an Android user - the Unix of hand-held devices.

What if we evolve these concepts to cars? I argue the same idea. Once, cars were driven only by mechanics, people mechanically minded who not only could maintain the beasts but also, operate all the necessary bits! With the onset of synchromesh gears, auromatic transmissions, power assisted brakes and steering, etc., the beasts became easy to operate while maintenance was religated to a subservient class of technicians. In short, the automobile went metaphorically from a building-size computer, to an IBM PC on some accountant's desk, then... Continue the evolution to technical mindlessness and one arrives at cars that park themselves, apply the brakes and correct lane drift, because the 'driver' is too busy txting to see the 18 wheeler with which they are about to mate. The car may contact OnStar if they think you've had an accident. You are busy, after all. And then, while the driver is busy surfing the satellite radio channels, the car does a software update - because it can, since its setting on the internet (and reporting back the driver's every action).

I guess what I have spewed upon you this morning is my concern that simplicity has trumped knowledge, in most all aspects of our lives. My old dad once said, "I believe we are losing knowledge about as fast as we are gaining it." His follow-on argument went as follows:

Consider the simple pencil. Can you make one? Certainly all of us could find a way to scrawl the written word, but can you actually MAKE a simple little pencil? First of all, we all know the 'lead' isn't the metal lead but rather, a mixture of clay and graphite. Clay is pretty easy to find but can you find and mine graphite? If so, one then would need to carve dried wood into a long hollow shape, to hold the lead. One would then need to find, refine and extract the hydrocarbons to make the paint on the outside, reserving enough chemicals to make the synthetic rubber for the eraser. Of course, one could find a rubber tree, extract the juice and make a real rubber eraser. Then one would need to find iron ore, smelt it and form a steel band to hold the eraser on the stick. It is after all, just a pencil. Could you do all of that, and make a pencil? Do you have that knowledge? After all, we do know how to press the iPhone's single button.

So much for waxing philosophical this morning. I wonder if our forefathers pondered these same things about the changes in their days? Hummm... I used to think this was the stuff of science fiction. But as I have grown old, I've realized how prophetic sifi really is!

So here's my sifi offering: In a none too distant future, a global catastrophe occurs knocking out all electronic devices. The millenials of the day will all be wiggling their thumbs in front of themselves in the failed attemp to communicate 'OMG' to the millenials standing next to them - and failing. Silence will have happened upon the face of the Earth. Cue the spooky music.

-rick

Happy Connecting. Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S® 5

-------- Original message --------
From: ferrari-request [at] ferrarilist.com
Date:02/12/2015 5:16 AM (GMT-06:00)
To: rolindsay <rolindsay [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Ferrari Digest, Vol 103, Issue 28

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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: NFC - What Mac to get? (Robert W. Garven Jr.)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 11:55:11 -0800
From: "Robert W. Garven Jr." <rgarven [at] gmail.com>
To: BrianBuxton [at] BuxtonMotorsports.com
Cc: Ferrari List <ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
Subject: Re: [Ferrari] NFC - What Mac to get?
Message-ID: <BD2EF055-98F4-4804-9039-135ADD058319 [at] gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

My mac just got measles!


Robert W. Garven Jr.
rgarven [at] gmail.com


"The Ferrari is a dream - people dream of owning this special vehicle and for most people it will remain a dream apart from for those lucky few." Enzo Ferrari






On Feb 11, 2015, at 11:43 AM, Brian E. Buxton <BrianBuxton [at] BuxtonMotorsports.com> wrote:

Norton is what I use ... I have been using Macs for 30 years and never had a virus or issue ...

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Brian E. Buxton
Buxton Motorsports, Inc. | 301 North Royal Ave. | Buxton Plaza | Evansville, IN 47715-2866
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On 2/11/15 9:25 AM, George wrote:
> Ok, I'll have to tell that to the local Apple rep....  Since I'm not an "operating systems" kind of guy, I relied on what they told me.
>
> What's a good anti-virus for Mac?
>
> FWIW.
>
> gp
>
> > From: pscopell [at] stny.rr.com <mailto:pscopell [at] stny.rr.com>
> > To: ygpz4re [at] hotmail.com <mailto:ygpz4re [at] hotmail.com>
> > CC: ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com <mailto:ferrari [at] ferrarilist.com>
> > Subject: RE: [Ferrari] NFC - What Mac to get?
> > Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2015 09:28:03 -0500
> >
> > Hi George,
> >
> > Ummm..... no. MACs essentially are Unix systems with the Apple windows
> > interface (rather than X-Windows). They don't "sandbox" apps, dragging a
> > running app to the wastebasket doesn't uninstall the app and they do use
> > shareable code libraries ("sharing of millions of tiny routines") just like
> > every other operating system.
> >
> > As has been mentioned, they are no less resistant to bugs and viruses than
> > Microsoft Windows, or Solariis or Red Hat or Ubuntu or Android or VMS or
> > Target credit card stations or Iranian centrifuges. They are all written by
> > humans who occasionally make errors or mistype or mis-design, or just fail
> > to take into account some circumstances or requirements.
> >
> > As to whether these vulnerabilities are found and exploited.. well that all
> > comes down to "Are you worth targeting?" If you're a hacker and interested
> > in creating damage or stealing information, you'll focus on the 90% of
> > laptops and desktops that run Microsoft Windows to get the most bang for
> > your buck. As MAC usage has grown, so have the number of viruses and
> > attacks. Did the Apple coders get dumber? No, they are just becoming more
> > of a viable target and thus warrant more probing and investigation.
> >
> > In the long run, it comes down to your last paragraph. Does it work for
> > you? People don't pick operating systems, they pick applications (though
> > the line between operating systems and applications has gotten very fuzzy).
> > If Apple has the apps you need or the interface you like then that is where
> > you go. If you need some massive CAD-CAM system, then a Unix flavor is
> > where you'll go.
> >
> > In any case, protect yourself! Run a good anti-virus, don't trust
> > everything you see on the net and don't click on those spam emails!
> >
> > BTW just starting "Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the
> > World's First Digital Weapon" Pretty good read.
> >
> > Pat
> >
> > Pat Scopelliti
> > pscopell [at] stny.rr.com <mailto:pscopell [at] stny.rr.com>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ferrari [mailto:ferrari-bounces+pscopell=stny.rr.com [at] ferrarilist.com <mailto:ferrari-bounces+pscopell=stny.rr.com [at] ferrarilist.com>]
> > On Behalf Of George's hotmail
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 10:21 PM
> > To: Pat Scopelliti
> > Cc: The FerrariList
> > Subject: [Ferrari] NFC - What Mac to get?
> >
> > Charles mentioned how things are configured on a Mac. This is one of the
> > "genius" things they did. All the applications are "sandboxed" so if one
> > develops a problem, you just drag it into the trash (this uninstalls it),
> > and reload it. None of this sharing of millions of tiny routines to make an
> > operating system nonsense of Windows (what on earth were they thinking????).
> > It's also why they are so resistant to bugs and viruses.
> >
> > And yes, I'm no techno-geek - I just want the silly thing to WORK. I really
> > don't care HOW it works, just so long as it works. (Don't worry Rick
> > Lindsay - this is not how I feel about my cars! More on that later....)
> >
> > gp
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
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> >
> >
>
>
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